A prominent trade body is urging its members and the wider industry to back a crowdfunding exercise to pay for a legal case to protect landlords’ rights to repossess their properties when a tenant stops paying rent. 

The case revolves around a landlord’s attempt to repossess his investment property, which was deemed invalid because of a licensing technicality involving Rent Smart Wales.

A statement from the Residential Landlords Association says the landlord attempted to gain possession of the property using Section 8, but the court ruled that this was invalid.

“This was because a company, rather than the individual, holds the licence.

This technicality has not been an issue in England and Wales before, and the RLA is now supporting the landlord in appealing the decision” says the association on its website.

RLA policy director David Smith says: “Landlords should be able to regain possession where they have a legitimate reason to do so, and the legislation was never intended to prevent possession against tenants in arrears of rent. This appeal could have far reaching implications for landlords across the board”.

Landlords and other property professionals are being urged to back the appeal by making a financial contribution to support the case; you can see the RLA crowdfunding here.